Rep. Dina Titus is taking another swing at ending the federal “handle tax” on sports bets.
Titus, D-Nev., and Rep. Guy Reschenthaler, R-Pa., co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional Gaming Caucus, reintroduced legislation to repeal the 0.25 percent excise tax placed on all legal sports bets first enacted in 1951 to counter illegal gambling, which she said is no longer relevant.
Titus and Reschenthaler have attempted to repeal the handle tax in 2019, 2021 and 2023, recognizing the economic importance of sports betting since its legalization in 2018.
She pointed out that illegal bookmakers don’t pay the tax, giving them an advantage over legal sportsbooks in 38 states and Washington D.C., including Nevada and Pennsylvania.
“Illegal sportsbooks do not pay the 0.25 percent sports handle tax and the accompanying $50 per head tax on sportsbook employees, giving them an unfair advantage,” Titus said. “I once asked the IRS where the revenue from the handle tax went in the federal budget and they didn’t even know. It makes no sense to give the illegal market an edge over legal sports books with a tax the federal government does not even track.”
In past years, the Discriminatory Gaming Tax Repeal Act didn’t gain enough traction to get through House committees.
Sports books are in the midst of one of the busiest times for sports wagering. The American Gaming Association estimated that $3.1 billion would be bet on the NCAA “March Madness” basketball tournament that began earlier this week. That’s up from the $2.7 billion estimated to be wagered in the 2024 tournament.
In Nevada, the state’s 66 legal operators took $8.26 billion in sports wagers, generating revenue of $481.3 million and gaming taxes of $32.5 million.
The biggest sports-betting market, New York, had 19 legal operators taking $19.18 billion in bets, generating $1.7 billion in gross gaming revenue and producing $862.6 million in tax revenue.
Contact Richard N. Velotta at rvelotta@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3893. Follow @RickVelotta on X.
